1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to electronic information equipments, and more particularly, to an electronic information equipment constructed so as to accommodate separable entry means sandwiched between a main body and display means.
2. Description of the Background Art
Recently, a liquid crystal display device has been utilized as a display for compactness in electronic information equipments such as personal computers and word processors. FIGS. 1 and 2 are side views showing an electronic information equipment disclosed in Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 59-91524 for example. Referring to FIG. 1, a display 31 is closed onto a main body 32 when not in use. Referring to FIG. 2, the electronic information equipment will be brought in a use position by raising the display 31 which covers a keyboard 30 during the time when not in use. Also, as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laying-Open No. 60-148632, a compact and readily portable desk-top electronic information equipment was developed. FIGS. 3 and 4 are side views showing the electronic information equipment disclosed in this laid open application. It can be seen from FIG. 3 that a liquid crystal display 33 is rotatably attached to a longitudinal main body 32. A keyboard 34 is placed before the liquid crystal display 33 when in use. Referring to FIG. 4, the liquid crystal display 33 and the keyboard 34 are fitted upright in turn to be integrally accommodated.
The situation as shown in FIG. 5 is considered in which an electronic information equipment disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laying-Open No. 60-148632 is placed on a desk 35 where two desks 35 and 36 are disposed to face each other. In this case, since the electronic information equipment is accommodated vertically when not in use, there was a problem that the field of vision of user A would be blocked so that the equipment could become an obstacle when speaking to the opposite occupant B.
As disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laying-Open No. 62-201826, an electronic information equipment accommodating a keyboard sandwiched between a display and a main body was developed. FIGS. 7 and 8 are perspective views showing the appearance of the electronic information equipment disclosed in this laid open application, with the keyboard set to be used and with the keyboard housed, respectively. Referring to FIG. 8, a keyboard 43 is accommodated sandwiched between a main body 41 and a display portion 42. When in use, the keyboard 43 is placed before the main body 41 with a key top portion 43a facing upward as shown in FIG. 7. The display portion 42 is rotated in the arrow C direction at a predetermined angle to the main body 41. The keyboard 43 is connected to the main body 41 by a connector portion 45 and a connection cable 44. The keyboard 43 fits into an accommodating portion 41a of the main body 41 when not in use. The height of this electronic information equipment is considerably low compared to that shown in FIG. 4 when not in use, so the front field of vision is not blocked.
However, when the above mentioned electronic information equipment is in use, it will be difficult to view the displayed information if the display face is not placed in the front due to the characteristics of the liquid crystal employed in the liquid crystal display device for display. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, when the electronic information equipment of FIG. 3 is placed on the desk 35 to be used, the display 33 is positioned in the middle of the desk 35 in front of user A. Since, it is necessary to place the main body 32 as well as the display 33 in front of the operator A, there was an inconvenience that the desk on which the electronic information equipment was placed could not be effectively used. In addition, the electronic information device of FIG. 7 is always positioned in front of the operator, leading to a problem that the front view will always be blocked.